Philipp
Melanchthon (Schwarzert)

Son of Georg Schwarzerdt (d. 1508). Married in Wittenberg in 1520 to Katharina Krapp (b. 1497 – d. 1557), two sons, two daughters. From October 1, 1509, he studied in Heidelberg, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree. From September 17, 1512, he continued his studies in Tübingen, receiving his Master's degree on January 25, 1514, and simultaneously lecturing there. He completed his apprenticeship at the Realistenburse (a student residence) in Tübingen. From August 26, 1518, he was Professor of Greek in Wittenberg, and in 1523/24 he became Rector of the university there for the first time. In 1525/26, at the request of the city council, he established the Nuremberg Gymnasium at St. Egidien. In 1552, he stayed in Nuremberg on his journey to Trent, where he delivered 30 lectures at the St. Egidien Gymnasium; he visited again in 1555 at the invitation of the city council. In Wittenberg, he befriended Luther, whose closest collaborator he remained until Luther's death. Through his writings, he played a decisive role in the organization and development of the Protestant church and school system in Germany and was referred to as the "Praeceptor Germaniae" (Teacher of Germany) even during his lifetime. In various letters, he called Nuremberg "the light, the eye, the ornament, and the most beautiful decoration of Germany." He even wrote once: "I prefer your community not only to all German states, but even to all foreign ones." Nuremberg honored him with a monument on Egidienplatz; the Melanchthon Gymnasium, Melanchthonplatz, and Melanchthonstraße in Nuremberg were named after him. Panzer recorded his portrait in several variations, and many medals were also created in his honor.

Lit.: Schultheiß, Schools, Vol. 1, p. 14; Festschrift Melanchthon-Gymnasium, 1911; Habich, Commemorative Coins; W. Mauer: The Young Melanchthon between Humanism and Reformation, Göttingen 1996; R. Stupperich: Philipp Melanchthon, Göttingen 1996; H. Scheible: Melanchthon, A Biography, Munich 1997; Erlanger/Fischer, 2000;

City Lexicon 2000.

Exhibitions: Exhibition at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum (GNM) from February 20–24, 1897; 1959/27; 1960/8; 1971/3. Melanchthon: A Biography, Munich 1997; Erlanger/Fischer, 2000; City Lexicon 2000. ...

(Quoted from the Nuremberg Artists' Lexicon, edited by Manfred H. Grieb)